Fire-escape.



No. 649,966. Patented May 22, I900.

B. W. THOMPSON.

'FIRE ESCAPE.

(Application filed Jan. 1

(No Model.)

' S IN VENTOH H J679'fl772277/WIZ077WJ0774 THE uunms PETERS (2a.. moraumo" wAsmncmu. n. c.

rrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN \VA'L'IER THOMPSON, OF TEE-BELL, TEXAS.

'FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,966, dated May 22, 1900. Application filed January 15,1900. Serial No. 1,504. (No model.)

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which .it appertains to make and i use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in fire-escapes and it consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my complete invention as applied to a building. Fig. 2 is avertical transverse section of my invention, taken on the line :r ocof Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a similar sect-ion taken on the line y g of Fig. l.

The object of my invention is to construct a cheap, practical, and durable fire-escape, and it is of such a nature that people irrespective of age, sex, or condition may be safely carried from any landing or floor of a building to the sidewalk or street with safety and with comparatively no work on the part of the operator,said fire-escape being so constructed as to be capable of operation by an inexperienced person. I

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a building, to which my invention is easily applied. Mounted within the building or upper room of the same above the highest window of said building is a shaft 2, provided with a series of flanges 3, providing spools or drums upon which the ropes leading from the car 4 are attached and upon which the same are adapted to be wound and unwound when the device is in operation. The cords or ropes 5, which suspend the car 4, are four in number, one end of each of which is attached to the shaft 2, between the flanges 3 thereof, and has its opposite end attached to said car, as shown, whereby the latter is held in aposition to properly receive the persons to be cartied to the sidewalk from any one of the windows of the building and in close proximity to the front of said building in aline with the windows thereof, Said ropes pass over rollers 6, which are two in number and are mounted in brackets 7, fixed to the front of the building at a suitable distance above the highest window of said building.

Secured to the rear surface or side of the car at are curved shoes 8, which are adapted to come in contact with the outer. wall of the building should said car move out of its true vertical position in ascending or descending, and thereby prevent said car from being in terrupted in its travel in either direction.

Fixed to one end of the shaft 2 is a sprocketwheel 9, and mounted in one of the brackets 7 and in an additional bracket 10 are the op posite ends of two short drums or rollers 11, over which an endless sprocket-chain 12 is adapted to pass and also over the sprocketwheel 9 on the shaft 2, said sprocketchain leading downwardly on the outside of the building and also passing over a sprocket wheel 13, forming a part of the shaft 14, the latter being journaled in the bearings 15, preferably fixed to the front of the building adjacent to the ground or sidewalk and within easy reach of the operator, and secured to the sprocket-chain or the lap of the same adjacent to the building is a weight 16, which is somewhat heavier than the car tor parts com prising the same, whereby said car will al- .Ways be held in its highest position when the same is empty; but should one or more persons be placed in or enter said car their weight will be sufficient to cause the car to descend, and when said car is emptied the weight therefore is suiiicient to automatically cause the car to be elevated to its normal position.

In order to regulate the downward movement of the car after one or more persons are contained therein, I employ a brake, which is very simple and compact and which I shall now proceed to describe, although I do not limit myself to any particular form of brake, as other forms may be employed Without departing from the nature of my invention.

Movably fixed to the front wall of the building is a wedge-bar 17, the same being secured in position by a staple 18, secured to said wall and forming a guide for the upper end of said bar. In the bar is a slot 19, through which a pin 20 passes and is secured in said wall, whereby the bar is held in its proper position in respect to the short shaft 14 and provided with a suitablemovement whereby the lower wedge-shaped end of said bar is adapted to be interposed between said shaft and wall of the building, and therefore a proper amount of friction may be given or brought to bear upon the shaft for regulating the movement ropes whereby said car'is suspended leading from thesame, rollers on the wall of the build ing'over which said ropes pass, a shaft mount ed within the building to which the ends of the ropes are attached and upon which the l'atter are adapted to be wound, a sprocket wheeion said shaft, rollers mounted on the outside of the building, an endless sprocketchain passing over said sprocket-wheel, and last name'd rollers, a sprocket-wheel located on the outside of the building adjacent to the ground, over which said sprocket-chain also passes, and a weight fixed to one of the laps of the chain and heavier than the car, as and for the purpose described.

2. A fire-escape, comprising a suitable car, ropes, one end of each of which is attached to said car, rollers mounted on the outside of the building, over which said .ropes pass, a shaft provided with flanges forming drums to which the opposite ends of said ropes are attached; a sprocket-wheel on said shaft, a sprocket-chain passing over said sprocketwheel, short rollers mounted on the outside of the building over which the laps of the chain pass, ajshort shaft mounted on the outside of the building adjacent to the ground, a sprocket-wheel forminga part of the same,

over which the sprocket-chain also passes, a

wedge-shaped bar movably fixed to the front wall of the building, the lower end of which is adapted to be interposed between the lastnamed shaft and the wall'of the building, and a weight-secured to one lap of the chain and somewhat heavier than the car, whereby the latter is held in its elevated or normalp'osition when empty, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN WALTER THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

W. P. WILLIAMS, A. C. ALEXANDER. 

